This page lays out my position on advanced standing courses, also known as honors, at the Sequoia Union High School District.
I have consistently supported honors course offerings. On April 22, 2026, I made a motion at the board meeting to restore honors course offerings at the district’s four large high schools. Trustee Sathvik Nori seconded the motion. The motion was defeated 3 to 2.
The board has received a petition signed by over 1,000 people asking for the restoration of honors courses. I agree with this position.
Why I support consistent honors offerings
I shared my philosophy on course offerings at the April 22, 2026 board meeting before making the motion:
I want our district schools to be the first choice for all families and to meet all students where they are. I believe that a broad range of course offerings is better than a more limited range of course offerings. The greater the variance in the prior preparation of the student population at a school, the more important it is to have more levels of that subject offered at the school.
On when differentiated coursework should become available for students:
When the research is inconclusive, this is not a scientific question. It is a question of values and judgment. Specifically: at what age should students have access to differentiated coursework in each subject? In our region, the answer for math and foreign language has long been accepted as 6th grade. Nobody is seriously arguing that all middle school students should take the same math class regardless of what each student is ready for. The question before this Board is when that same principle should apply to English and science. I believe the answer is 9th grade. Students who are ready for more rigorous work in English or science as freshmen deserve that option, just as students who are ready for advanced math in 6th grade have that option already.
Background
Honors course offerings (9th grade English, 9th grade Biology, and 10th grade Chemistry) were in place at the district’s comprehensive high schools as of 2016. Site administrators have gradually removed these honors courses over approximately the last 10 years. The removal was administrative, not the result of any board vote.
I was elected to the Sequoia Union High School District Board in 2020. Most of the gradual administrative removal predates my tenure on this board.
Where honors stands today
The current state of these three 9th and 10th grade honors offerings across the district’s four large high schools:
| School | 9th English honors | 9th Biology honors | 10th Chemistry honors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlmont (not in Area C) | Still offered | Removed | Removed |
| Woodside (in Area C) | Removed | Removed | Still offered |
| Menlo-Atherton (in Area C) | Removed | Removed | Removed |
| Sequoia (in Area C) | Removed | Removed | Removed |
Three of the four large high schools serve voters in Area C: Woodside, Menlo-Atherton, and Sequoia. Carlmont is the fourth large school and does not serve Area C. Carlmont retains 9th grade honors English and is the most-demanded school in the district. It is the only district school that does not accept incoming transfers, because it is full. Woodside, which serves students who live in Area C, retains 10th grade honors Chemistry. Menlo-Atherton and Sequoia, also in Area C, retain none of these three honors offerings. Honors Physics was also removed over this period. My April 22 motion addressed the 9th and 10th grade offerings specifically.
The April 22, 2026 board vote
On April 22, 2026, the board discussed advanced standing courses at our schools. The administration recommended an action that would have left the current state in place. No board member made a motion on the staff recommendation, and so it was not voted on.
I made the following motion:
The AS/honors offerings between MA, Woodside, Sequoia and Carlmont should be consistent with each other with consistency achieved by adding, not removing course offerings.
Trustee Sathvik Nori seconded the motion. The motion was denied with a vote of 3 no, 2 yes. Trustee Nori and I voted yes. Trustees Marybeth Thompson, Maria Cruz, and Amy Koo voted no.
Trustees Koo and Thompson serve an area that includes Carlmont. Trustee Cruz serves an area that includes Menlo-Atherton.
If adopted, my motion would have added 9th grade honors English at Menlo-Atherton, Sequoia, and Woodside. It would have added 10th grade honors Chemistry at Menlo-Atherton, Sequoia, and Carlmont. It would have addressed the underlying concern of the families who have advocated for restoration of advanced standing offerings.
You can watch the official meeting recording on the district’s YouTube channel:
If the video does not load, watch it on YouTube (starts at 2:26:25).
What the board said about data
Three of the five trustees made statements that the data on this question is not strong:
Trustee Thompson:Trustee Cruz:“I don’t think the data is strong enough on either side to promote us spending this much valuable time and resources on this one topic.”
Trustee Nori:“The numbers are not super strong one way or another, so you can argue it in any way.”
“I don’t think the data is as clear as it’s made to be seen in this board packet.”
Trustee Koo did not address the data in her statement.
What I will continue to advocate for
I will continue to advocate for restoring consistent honors course offerings at the district’s four large high schools. Constituents who want to share their views on this question can reach me at rich@costellakirsch.com or email the full board at board@seq.org.